UNITED STATES
Tracing to be integrated
Apple and Google plan to integrate contact-tracing software into smartphones as they aim to broaden an initiative to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. The technology, first launched in April on Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android system, is meant to alert people through their smartphones when they come into contact with an infected person. Under the change, public health authorities would be able to use the company’s program without building their own apps, and people who sign up for the service would not need to download a separate, stand-alone app.
UNITED STATES
Pelosi accuses salon
House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday said that she takes responsibility for trusting the word of a San Francisco hair salon that it was OK to come in for a solo visit — even though the city still does not allow indoor beauty services amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Pelosi called Monday’s visit a “set-up” and said the salon owes her an apology for misrepresenting city health orders. “I take responsibility for trusting the word of a neighborhood salon that I’ve been to over the years many times, and that when they said ... we’re able to accommodate people one person at a time, and that we can set up that time, I trusted that,” Pelosi told reporters on Wednesday. “As it turns out, it was a set up. I take responsibility for falling for a set up.”
UGANDA
Gorilla birth boom reported
The Uganda Wildlife Authority said that it has recorded a baby boom among gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, with five babies born in just six weeks. The latest, born last week, brought the total born this year to seven. In comparison only three were born last year, it said. “This is highly unusual, it’s an incredible blessing,” Uganda Wildlife Authority spokesman Bashir Hangi said. “As conservationists, we’re chest-thumping, we are excited.” The boom in births was testimony the country’s conservation efforts were succeeding to an extent, despite poaching and other threats, Hangi said.
ITALY
Blanchett prefers ‘actor’
Hollywood star Cate Blanchett on Wednesday said that she would rather be called an actor than an actress. The Australian, who is heading the jury at the Venice film festival, gave her backing to Berlin festival’s decision last week to do away with gendered prizes and only give a best actor award. “I have always referred to myself as an actor,” Blanchett said after being asked about the move to gender-neutral prizes hours before the Venice jamboree began. “I am of the generation where the word actress was used almost always in a pejorative sense. So I claim the other space.”
AUSTRALIA
Woman arrested over post
Victoria police are facing criticism for the arrest on Wednesday of 28-year-old pregnant woman Zoe Buhler in her Ballarat home over a Facebook post, with the Victorian Bar labeling it “disproportionate.” Assistant Police Commissioner Luke Cornelius defended the arrest, saying the officers acted “reasonably.” Police arrested Buhler after she created a “freedom day” event on Facebook encouraging people to protest against COVID-19 lockdowns in the town. She was arrested and charged under section 321G of the state’s Crimes Act 1958, which makes it an offense for a person to “pursue a course of conduct which will involve the commission of an offense.”
Hundreds of protesters marched through the Mexican capital on Friday denouncing gentrification caused by foreigners, with some vandalizing businesses and shouting “gringos out!” The demonstration in the capital’s central area turned violent when hooded individuals smashed windows, damaged restaurant furniture and looted a clothing store. Mexico City Government Secretary Cesar Cravioto said 15 businesses and public facilities were damaged in what he called “xenophobic expressions” similar to what Mexican migrants have suffered in other countries. “We are a city of open arms... there are always ways to negotiate, to sit at the table,” Cravioto told Milenio television. Neighborhoods like Roma-Condesa
‘CONTINUE TO SERVE’: The 90-year-old Dalai Lama said he hoped to be able to continue serving ‘sentient beings and the Buddha Dharma’ for decades to come The Dalai Lama yesterday said he dreamed of living for decades more, as the Buddhist spiritual leader prayed with thousands of exiled Tibetans on the eve of his 90th birthday. Thumping drums and deep horns reverberated from the Indian hilltop temple, as a chanting chorus of red-robed monks and nuns offered long-life prayers for Tenzin Gyatso, who followers believe is the 14th reincarnation of the Dalai Lama. Looking in good health, dressed in traditional maroon monk robes and a flowing yellow wrap, he led prayers — days after confirming that the 600-year-old Tibetan Buddhist institution would continue after his death. Many exiled Tibetans
Dozens of residents have evacuated remote islands in southern Japan that have been shaken by nearly 1,600 earthquakes in recent weeks, the local mayor said yesterday. There has been no major physical damage on hardest-hit Akuseki island, even after a magnitude 5.1 quake that struck overnight, said Toshima Mayor Genichiro Kubo, who is based on another island. However, the almost nonstop jolts since June 21 have caused severe stress to area residents, many of whom have been deprived of sleep. Of the 89 residents of Akuseki, 44 had evacuated to the regional hub of Kagoshima by Sunday, while 15 others also left another
CEREMONY EXPECTED: Abdullah Ocalan said he believes in the power of politics and social peace, not weapons, and called on the group to put that into practice The jailed leader of a Kurdish militant group yesterday renewed a call for his fighters to lay down their arms, days before a symbolic disarmament ceremony is expected to take place as a first concrete step in a peace process with the Turkish state. In a seven-minute video message broadcast on pro-Kurdish Medya Haber’s YouTube channel, Abdullah Ocalan, the leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), said that the peace initiative had reached a stage that required practical steps. “It should be considered natural for you to publicly ensure the disarmament of the relevant groups in a way that addresses the expectations
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